Railway car



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Feb. 26 1924.

A. K. SIMMONS RA I LWAY CAR Filed Jan. l5. 1922 /NVENTOR ALBA K SwnmowsPatented Feb. 2, 192%..

ALBA K. SIMMONS, OF ROANOKE, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR TO B. W. KADEL, OFBALTI- MORE, MARYLAND, AND JOHN A. PILCHER, OF ROANOKE, VIRGINIA RAILWAYCAR.

Application led January 13, 1922. Serial No. 529,014.

To au whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ALBA K. SIMMONS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Roanoke, in the county of Roanoke and State of Virginia,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway Cars;

and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a door-securing and door-closing mechanism forrailway cars or the like, and has among its objects to provide means forsupporting the door of a railway car in partly closed position, andadditional means for supporting it in fully closed position. Anotherobject is to provide in combination with a car door, removable means forforcing the door from a partly closed to a fully closed position.Another object is to provide a simple and economical form of doorsupporting mechanism not liable to be injured in ordinary service.

Other incidental objects will appear as the description of the inventionis set forth.

Tn the accompanying drawings, which show a preferred embodiment of theinvention, Figure 1 isa fragmental side elevational view of a railwaycar, having doors with a supporting and closing mechanism constructed inaccordance with the principles of the present invention. Figure 2 is atransverse vertical section taken through the saine, substantially onthe irregular line 2-2-2-2 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a horizontalsectional view taken substantially on the irregular line 3-3-3-3-3-3 ofFigure 1. Figure 4 is a detached view of the preliminary supporting hookas used in the present embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the embodiment shown in these drawings, the car sideplate is indi*- cated by the numeral 1. To the lower ed e of the same issecured a reinforcing ang e iron 2, having its upright or vertical leg 3disposed on the inner face of the car side and its horizontal leg 4.turned toward the outside of the car and extending outwardly beneath theside plate 1. Rivets such as 5 may be utilized for securing the angleiron to the car side.

A portion of the car floor is shown at 6. Hinged to the floor by meansof co-operating body and door hinges 7 and S is a door 9.

The numeral 10 denotes the hinge pintle. A fragment of a companion door11 is also shown, these doors being, in the present embodiment,duplicates `of each other and arranged as a pair, hinged along theirremote edges to the car body and with their free edges adjacent. This isan arrangement of doors frequently used, but it is to be understood thatthe invention is applicable either in whole or in part, to any otherdoor arrangement, either where they occur singly or in pairs.

The doors are held in closed positions by suitable door supportingmembers, such as the hooks 12, which have supporting ledges 31 arrangedto seatbeneath cooperatively formed portions of the doors. These hooksare pivoted to the car body through themedium of a suitable bracket 13.This bracket 13 lies directly against the car side 1, and has spools orbosses attached to it, over which the pierced upper ends of the hooks 12are placed. These spools 14 are suitably pierced for receiving attachingrivets 15, which pass through the spools and through aligned openings inthe car side, and also through aligned openings in an outer coveringplate 16, which overlies the bracket 13 and the hooks.v A collar suchais/17 is preferably provided upon each spool to position the hook 12 sothat it will swing freely along the outermost edge of the leg 4 of theangle 2.

Positioned also between the bracket 13 and the plate 16, andv rotatablymounted upon similar spools 30 are eocentrics or cams 18, which arearranged in the customary manner to retain the hooks in their closedpositions so as'to prevent their accidental `displacement fromengagement with the doors. Similar collars 17 are provided for thespools 30 and similar attaching rivets 19 pass through the spools 30 atthe pivots of the cams 18.

Tt will be understood that suthcient clearance is provided betweenthe'faces of the collars 17 and the inner face of the plate 16 to allowfreedom of movement of the hooks and the cams about their respectivepivot points. At the same time the hooks and cams are held in alignmentbetween the co1- lars 17 and plate 16.

The door plates extend outwardly to near the outer edge of thehorizontal ange 4 of the angle 2, so that the hooks 12l swing clear ofthe outer ends of the door plate. Each door is referably provided with areinforcingang e iron 20, disposed alon the free edge of the door, andextending s ightly beyond the outer edge of the door plates, and outsidethe edge of the flange 4 of the angle 2. The ends of these angle irons,which are securely attached to the door plates, form seats for theledges 31 of the hooks. The backs of the angle irons 20 of the companiondoors are turned toward each other, or in other words, with thehorizontal flanges thereof extending toward the respective door pintles.The hooks seat beneath the horizontal legs of the angles 20, and swingaway from each other for releasing.- y

Each hook is preferably provided with an approach portion 21, soarranged that when the doors are lifted up, the contacting portion ofthe angle 2O will,.by striking the sloping face 21 of the hook, causesaid hook to swlng backward ready for eventually dropping into positionbeneath t-he horizontal leg of 'the angle 20, when the door has beenlifted a roper amount. rlhe inward swin of the ook when the door is openmay e limited by stops such as 22 provided upon the cover plate 16.

i It'fwill be understood that the ledges 31 of the hooks 12 are intendedto support the doors independently in fully closed positions. rlhis is aconstruction in more or less use today on railway cars, lt sometimeshappens, however, that doors of this character cannot be readily closedto the final position, such as indicated to the left of Figure V1. dueto deformation of parts or to interference of foreign material lodged atsome critical point, it being the general practice in this character ofconstruction to lift the doors by hand. lt is gleneally possible,however, to partly close t e doors by hand, and accordingly one of theprincipal objects of the present invention 1s to provide a preliminarydoor support, to w ich either of the doors may be lifted and upon whichit may be itioned before attempting to lift the door to and lock itinits final or fully closed position.

'llo this end, there is provided in the present embodiment of theinvention, a preliminary closing, hook 23, which is loosely hinged uponthe bracket 13. This hook is arranged to seat beneath an edge of eitherdoor plate and to hold either door, as shown in the right hand portionof Figure 1, in a position not fully closed. This hook is preferablymounted upon the bracket 13 and may he supported therefrom upon a spool32 similar n) those provided for the pivot points above mentioned, exect that ribs 33 are rovided non the top o the spool for retainin the ook23 in proper position longitunally of the spool. The hook in the presentembodiment is so feed as to accommodate either of the two doors. To thisend, it is formed of a round bar of steel, welded into loop form, andthen bent into hook form, with a lower approach portion 24 which causesthe hook 23 to be swung outwardly, or away from the car side, wheneither of the doors is lifted up. When the doors are to be dropped fromfully vclosed position, the hook 23 may be swung .back out of the pathof the doors and may be held back by the insertion of a small blocbetween it and the edge of the angle iron 2, or the hook 23 may belifted and positioned outside of the outer one of the ribs 33, therebylocating the hook 23 in a new position ofswing where it will fall bygravity into a position'to clearthe doors when they are dropped. When itis desired to temporarily support the doors upon the hook 23 it will beshifted inwardly into the operative position shown in the drawings. Thishook is formed of lighter material than the main hook 12 inasmuch as itsupports the unloaded door only, whereas the main hook is subjected tothe weight of the lading above the door.

In order that his hook 23 ma not be swung out of position longitudine lyalong the slde of the car when the weight vof a door is supported uponit,'the outstanding leg 4 of the angle 2` is coped ont as at 25, therebyforming a cavity in the flanged portion of this angle for the receptiono the hook 23. Any tendency of the hook to move longitudinally of thecar will be arrested b itsocoming into contact with a shoulder, suc l,as26, defining the end of this cut in the angle leg. I

Another object of the invention being to provide means, associated withthe car body and the door, for forcibly lifting the door from apreliminary position as just d escribed to its final position, I haveprovided :i removable lever 34, which is shown in the attached drawings.This lever is arranged to have its inner end 35 seat upon the uppersurface of the outstanding leg 4 of the angle 2, just above one or theother of the door angles 20. Pivoted to this lever at 27 is a dependinghook 28 which has an inturned polnt 29 so arranged that when the end ofthe lever is in position on the flange of the angle 2, the point 29 ofthis hook will drop into position beneath the down standing leg of thecorresponding door angle 20. By now lifting up on the outer end of thelever, the door may be forcibly lifted from its reliminary position onthe hook 23 to a nal or fully closed position where they ledge 31 of thehook 12 will be seated beneath the horizontal flange of the door angle20. The

wil

means for forcibly moving the door from i seen that one of the leverswill serve an entire unloading station instead of supplying separa-teclosing means for each individual car.

The horizontal flange portion of the angle iron 20 is preferably ofgreater length than the remainder of the angle iron, and this end of theflange may be turned down at the end of the angle and outside of thehook seat so as to form a stop for the hook and thereby limit shiftingof the door in one direction as well as revent said hook from coming offits seat rom accidental movement of the hook longitudinally of the door.The end of the horizontal flange of the angle 20 that engages thesupporting ledge 3l of the hook being bent substantially at right anglesto its normal plane constitutes an economical means for providing asupporting surface for the hook, Without the employment of a separatebracket or rivets, both of which add to the cost and weight of suchdevices.

It will be seen that either door may be rested on the preliminary hookand the lever may be moved from one door angle to the other to forceeither door up into final position. rlhe entire arrangement is not onlyinexpensive and compact, but is also sturdy and of a character notreadily damaged in the ordinary course of service. rlhe doors ma bequickly dropped and forcibly closed an 'whenonce closed they cannotaccidentally open. Furthermore, no previous experlence orspecialinstruction is necessary for the workmen who unload such cars asthe simplicity of the arrangement renders it readily understandable tothe unskilled workman.

l have thus described a preferred embodiment of my invention. Otherembodiments are contemplated within the vscope of the appended claimswithout departing from the splrit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A railway car having a door, a doorsecuring member carried by the carand arranged to su port the door in fully closed position, an additionaldoor-supporting means pivotally mounted upon the car for supporting thedoor in a partly closed position.

2. A railway car having a door, a doorsecuring mechanism carried by thecar and arranged to support the door in fully closed position, andadditional door-Supporting means pivotally associated with the irstmentioned door-securing mechanism for supporting the door in a partlyclosed position.

3.` A railway car having a door, a doorsecuring member carried by thecar and arranged to support the door in fully closed position,additional door-supporting means carried by the car for supporting thedoor in a partly closed preliminary position, a relatively lined portionof the car body and a portion of the door being formed and arranged toaccommodate detachable means operable therebetween for forcing the doorfrom the preliminary position to the fully closed position.

4. A railway oar having a door, a doorsecuring member pivoted to the carand having a ledge arranged to engage a portion of the door and tosustainthe door in fully closed position, additional door-supportingmeans also pivoted to the car and having a ledge arranged to engage aportion of the door and to sustain the door in partially closedposition, a relatively fixed portion of the car body and a portion ofthe door being formed and arranged to accommodate a removable leveroperable therebetween for forcing the door from partially closed tofully closed position.

5. A railway car having a door, a hook pivoted to the car body andarranged to engage a portion of the door and to support the same infully closed position, and an additional hook also pivoted to thecarbody and arranged to engage a portion of the door and tosupport the samein partly closed position, a relatively fixed portion of the car and aportion of the door being formed and arranged to accommodate meansreacting therebetween for forcibly moving the door from its partlyclosed to its fully closed position.

6. A railway car having a door, a main hook pivoted to the car body andarranged to engage a portion of the door and to support it in fullyclosed position-.pand under full load, an auxiliary hoolr also pivotedto the ear body and arranged to engage a portion of the door and tosupport it in partially closed position, the said auxiliary hook beingof lighter construction than the main hook, adjacent parts of the carand the door being arranged to receive means for forcing the door fromits partly closed position to its fully closed position.

7. A railway car having a door, a plurality of hooks pivoted to the carbody and respectively adapted to support the door in dierent position,adjacent parts of the car and door beingarranged to receive removablemeans inde endent of the hooks and reactinv between t e car and the doorfor forcing the door from one position to another. 8., A railway carhaving a door, a main hook pivoted to the car body and arranged to swingin a plane into engagement with a portion of the door and to support thedoor in fully closed position, and an auniliary hook also pivoted to thecar and arranged to swing in another plane into engagement with adierent portion of the door and to support the door in partly closedposition. H

9.. A railway car having a door, a bracket ed to the car body a mainheolr pivoted upon the bracket and arranged to support the door in fullyclosed position, an auxiliary hook'also pivoted upon the bracket andarranged to support the door in partly closed position, adjacent partsof the car and door being arranged to receive means for forcibly liftingthe door from one of said positions to the other. l

10. A railway car having a door, a hook pivotally connected to the carbody, an angle iron connected to the door and arranged for cooperationwith the said hook to hold the door in closed position, a portion of theangle iron being extended beyond the position of the hook and beingthere deformed into a position parallel with the swing of the hook insuch manner as to form a stop for limiting movement of said hooklongitudinally of the door.

11. A railway car having a pair of doors hinged to the car body andarranged with their free edges adjacent, a main supporting member foreach door, the same being pivoted to the car body, and arranged tosupport the respective doors in fully closed positions, and apreliminary supporting member carried by the car body and arranged tosupport either of the two doors in partly closed position.

12. A railway car having a door hinged to the car body, a hook pivotedto the car body and arranged to swing in a plane parallel with the sideof the ear and to support the door in fully closed position, anauxiliary hook also pivoted to the car body and arranged to swing in aplane at right angles to the side of the car, and means affixed to thecar body for holding the hooks against displacement from theirrespective planes of swing.

13. A railway car having a door and a door securing mechanism, said doorsecuring mechanism including a hook spaced from the car side, andincluding also a bracket having a base arranged :tor attachment to thecar side, a spool attached to the base of the bracket, a stop for thehook, the same being arranged outwardly of the base of the bracket andinwardly from the outermost end of the spool, said stop being adapted tolimit movement of the hook axially of the spool toward'the car side, anda plate overlying the spool, the hook being pivoted upon the spool andoperating between the said stop and the plate le. A railway car having ahinged door with a stiiiening member attached thereto extendingoutwardly beyond an edge the door, and a door-supporting hook pivoted tothe car body in position to engage the tend ot` said. stitening member,the said stiilening member being formed of an angerwv section havi thesaid hoch:

out of its normal plane to overlie the side of the hook.

15. A railway car having a hinged door with a stiii'ening memberattached thereto extending outwardly beyond an edge of the door, and adoor-supporting hook pivoted to the car body in position to engage theend of said stii'ening member, the said stiifening member being formedof an angular section having two lianges, the said hookv being arrangedto -seat beneath one flange thereof and said flange' being bentsubstantially at right angles out of its normal plane in the vicinity ofthe hook to form a contacting surface for the hook.

16. A railway car having a hinged door with a stieni'ng member attachedthereto extending outwardly beyond an edge of the door, and adoor-supporting hook pivoted to the car body in position to engage theend of said stilening member, the said stilening member being formed ofan angular section having two ianges, the said hook being arranged toseat under the said stil'ening member, and one of said flanges beingbent out of the normal plane thereof, said bent portion being adapted toengage the said hook in the supporting position of the latter.

17. A railway car having aplurality of hinged doors located adjacenteach other, means pivotally associated between the car body and aplurality ofthe doors for supporting either of said doors in a partlyclosed position, and independent means pivotally associated between thecar body and 'each door for supporting the doors individually andindependently of each other in fully closed positions.

18. A railway car having a hinged door, a latch pivotally associatedbetween the oar body and the door and arranged to support the vdoor VYina partly closed position, and an additional latch also pivotallyassociated between the car body and the door and arranged to support thedoor in a fully closed position, the lirst mentioned latch beingshiftable bodily from one position to another and being so arranged withrespect to the door that in one position4 it will Jfall by gravity intosupporting engagement with the door and when in the other position itwill lie outside of the path of swing of the door.

19. A railway car having a hinged door,- a door supporting arm attachedthereto, said arm extending outwardly beyond an edge ot the said door,and a door supporting hook pivoted to the car body' in position toengage the end oi? the said arm, the said arm being formed oit a rolledsection and having a portion thereof bent out of its normal plane tooverlie the side of the hook to limit endivise movement of the door inone direction,

20. A railway car having a hinged door, and means for supporting saiddoor in closed position involving two relatively movable members one ofwhich is mounted on the car body and the other upon said door, one ofsaid members constituting a hook and the other of said members providinga seat engageable by said hook when the dooris in closed position, thesaid member by which the seat for said hook is provided being formedwith a bent portion projecting away from said seat at an angle to theplane thereof and overlapping the side of said hook member when thelatter is in door supporting relation to said seat, thereby limitingendwise movement of said door in one direction.

21. In a car door arrangement, the combination with a drop door hingedto the car body, of means for supportin said door in partly closedposition, an means for supporting said'door in fully closed position,said first named means including a pivoted member operatively interposedbetween said door and the car body, and said means for supporting saiddoor in fully closed position involving a pivoted member operativelyinterposed between said door and the car body and movable with respectto said pivoted member first named.

22. In a car door arrangement, the combination with 'a drop door hingedto the ear body, of a pluralit of independentl movable pivoted mem erseither of w ich is adapted to be operatively interposed between saiddoor and the car body to su port said door, one of said pivoted membersbeing adapted to assume a position for supporting said door in partlyclosed position and the other of said pivoted members being adapted toengage and su port said door when the latter is in fully c osedposition, and both of said pivoted members being required to swing tounlocked positions to permit said door to swing to open position.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature.

ALBA K. SIGNS.

